Maynard, MA, USA: Beacon-Villager newspaper column on local history, observations on nature and recreational activities, plus an occasional health-related article. Columns from 2009-11 collected into book "MAYNARD: History and Life Outdoors." Columns from 2012-14 collected into book "Hidden History of Maynard." - David A. Mark

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Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Bridge on the River Assabet

Preparing the bridge for removal, August 11, 2016. Notice
orange lifesaver ring in this and last photo. OSHA
regulations require this when working near water, even though
in this instance the river is less than one foot deep.
Click on any photo to enlarge.

Spoiler alert: The climax of the 1957 movie "The Bridge
on the River Kwai" occurs when the British officer in charge of the
prisoners who built the bridge for the Japanese Army, deeply conflicted, also
mortally wounded, falls on the detonator wired to the explosives that destroy
the bridge. What happened in Maynard August 11th was not nearly so
dire - no World War II, no explosives - but a bridge did end its life. A large
crane brought in by D'Allessandro Corporation lifted the bridge from its stone
foundation and gently lowered it onto a truck. Once the cables were in place
the entire operation took less than ten minutes.

The wooden bridge, forty feet long, six feet wide, had been
installed in 1989 as part of the creation of JohnJ.TobinRiverfrontPark. The site was where
the railroad bridge had been removed in 1980. Many residents of Maynard
remember walking that bridge over the river - no railings and a twenty foot drop.

Cables in place to lift bridge.

Tobin was a long-time resident of Maynard. He was a Board of
Public Works member for over 30 years, and also active at times on the town's
Finance Committee, School Building Committee and the Board of Appeals. He was
so active in town that people referred to him as "Mr. Maynard."

His death in 1986 was a catalyst for the town's government
to choose some means of remembering his contributions. TobinPark
encompasses greenspace on either side of the bridge site. This is one of the
few places in town where it is possible to walk right down to the riverbank.
Barefoot wading is not recommended, however, as while literally hundreds of
pounds of broken glass, pottery shards and rusted metal have been removed, much
remains.

Up, up and away! If you weren't there at 8:45 AM, you missed it.

The bridge removal and replacement process had originally
been scheduled to begin in October and finish by March 2017. D'Allessandro
Corporation, the construction company with the contract for the entire project,
decided to accelerate the process in order to take advantage of summer's low
water level in the AssabetRiver. The intent now is
to have the replacement bridge in place by January. In the interim,
people have to detour fifty yards south to Main Street, cross the river on the MainStreetBridge, then return fifty
yards north to the original route. No big deal.

The current view from Main Street bridge includes what looks
like very large white bags. These create a cofferdam, which provides for a dry
workspace in an area that would otherwise be under water. Each bag holds approximately
one ton of sand or gravel, and is lowered into place by a crane. Once the new
abutments are in place, a prefabricated new bridge, 62 long and 16 feet wide,
will be installed and the cofferdam removed. Why so wide? The intent is to
provide for six foot lanes in both directions (standard for new rail trail
construction), plus allow two more feet to the railings, space for people to
pause to look at the river.

Bridge loaded onto D'Allessandro truck.

The bridge is not the only part of the construction project
being accelerated. Through August and September the remaining stumps will be
cleared and railroad ties removed, followed by trucking in hundreds upon
hundreds of tons of stone to create a
base for the asphalt. The center of town will see more curb, sidewalk and path
construction. Parking lots will be reconfigured and telephone poles moved. The
intention is to complete as much as possible before winter puts a halt to
construction.

Cofferdams on both sides of the Assabet River are in place
to keep the base of the walls dry while work is going on.

Work has also been sped up in Acton. Under the original plan all paving,
end to end, was to be completed by late 2017, with fence, bench and extensive
landscaping (new trees!) scheduled for early 2018. Although no formal change has been announced
for completion date, this could all be done in 2017.

A revised Construction Schedule was shared after this column was submitted to the newspaper. Although much is sped up, completion of the Maynard footbridge is still shown as occurring in spring 2017. We will see.